I have found the perfect book for Women’s History month!  Good Night from Paris by @janehealey is based on the real life of Hollywood actress Drue Layton during her time in Nazi occupied Paris.  This is one of those times when real life is crazier than fiction!  

“Aren’t you tired of men always telling you what to do?” – Good Night from Paris

Good Night from Paris

Told from a singular POV from 1938 – 1944, the reader gets to witness this adult coming of age story as Drue finds her voice on the radio and chooses to speak out.  Her goal is to share the true experiences of Paris life and to encourage Americans to get involved in the war.

“Americans need to understand that ‘peace’ is not simply avoiding conflict at all costs.” – Good Night from Paris

Along the way, she is captured and forced into imprisonment….in the monkey house at the zoo, no less. (Told you this was a wild one!). When she’s moved to another prison, she is so afraid of what the Nazi’s will do that she poisons herself and fakes having cancer.   When she is finally freed, her story doesn’t end.  She goes on to help rescue, house, and get over 100 airmen to safety in the French Underground network.    

What a woman!  And yet until now, I had never heard of her.  This is what I love about this genre and this author!  Jane is at her best shining a light on little known amazing women from history.  This is biographical historical fiction at it’s finest!  I loved learning all about Drue and her friends, going down a deep rabbit hole of google once I finished to learn more, and discussing it with my @bookfriendsbookclub, and asking Jane a million questions on Zoom when we finished. I will share that here shortly so you can watch the replay.

Next Steps

You can pick up a copy of the book here.  To read more of my reviews, check out the rest of my blog.  To enter the latest giveaways and see what I’m currently reading, head to my Bookstagram account in IG.  And to listen to me chat all things bookish and share my latest reviews, head to my Booktube Channel. To try the book on audio go here!